Thanks for the Kirwan info,
In a 1716 will in Dorchester County, Maryland, the will began, I Mathew
CARRAWON and at the end, it was signed Matt. KIRWAN. Both names in the
same document. This also happened in some of the Kirwan/Carawan deeds
of the mid 1700's.
John McGowan
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Kerwin Naval Architects wrote:
>From St. Michael's Catholic Church records of Athy, Co. Kildare, Ireland,
who's records start at 1753, the surname appears to have evolved as follows:
1750's-app. 1838: Keeravan, Kierwan, Kiereven, Kerevan, Keervan
1789- first Kirwin appears
1789-present: Kirwan (by far most common in Ireland, rare in U.S. compared to Kerwin and
Kirwin)
1830-present: Kerwin (still rare in Ireland, very common in U.S.), Kerwan (rare in both
places)
You can't put much stock in the spellings, as I found 4 different spellings within my
great-grandfather's records.
Sorry, I didn't check Carawan, but since they all seem to have come
fromO'Ciaroubain they are obviously related.